Failure of national rural health scheme in Assam

Karimganj: Most of the centres under the National Rural Health Mission function without even doctors in Karimganj. No treatment could save seven-year-old Ruzel in the Karimganj Civil Hospital.

Ruzel's Grandfather said, "We took him at night. The doctor came after two hours. He was given an injection at night. He shrieked and died immediately."

Ruzel's mother still cannot talk about her son and her loss. In the village with 400 families, there isn't a single doctor. People are forced to visit quacks as the Primary Health Centre is far away and unreliable.

Hygiene is a casualty too. Garbage in open dustbins in the middle of the health centre seems acceptable in Karimganj.

The centre is supposed to be one of the better primary health centres in Karimganj. There's only one qualified MBBS doctor, only one nurse. One doctor of ayurvedic medicine and one homeopathic doctor are the regular medical staff after 150 to 270 patients who come everyday.

After 44 deaths in the Karimganj Civil Hospital, the only hospital in the district serving 125,000 people, UNICEF initiated a probe. The probe is over; leaving behind posters promising better healthcare but the reality tells another story.